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When the Jewish People and Israel Conflict

The word "Israel" has multiple meanings and associations, referring to the modern state of Israel, the Jewish collective or the actual Land of Israel. The intentionality of this ambiguity actually conveys a clear message: Israel's raison d'etre is to be the national homeland for the Jewish people. That is the core purpose for the establishment and ongoing project of nation building within the Jewish state. For many Jews, both in Israel and the Diaspora, Israel serves as an anchor and some would say the center of the Jewish collective experience, the place where Jews can enjoy full equality and express the full measure of their humanity. Others however, reject the notion of Israel as the (or even a) center of collective Jewish experience. Indeed, there appear to be a growing number of those who suggest that Medinat Yisrael the state, presents an obstacle to identification and solidarity with Am Yisrael, the Jewish people and who may even reject the idea that collective Jewish experience is a value worth upholding and acting upon at all.